Crohn’s Disease and Probiotic Yogurt

Written by Dale Kiefer
| Published on March 4, 2012Medically Reviewed by George Krucik, MD

Learn about how bacteria work in the gut and how the natural bacteria, or probiotics, in yogurt could help mitigate the symptoms of Crohn's disease.

Crohn’s
disease is considered an autoimmune disease with no known cause and no known
cure. The damage to the digestive tract, particularly the intestines, is the
result of an immune system gone awry. For reasons that are unclear, components
of the immune system act in a dysfunctional manner and attack the patient’s own
gut tissues, causing severe inflammation and damage.

Enteral
nutrition—supplying nutrient-rich formula directly into the stomach or
intestines through a tube—is often used to bring about remission, especially in
small children. Powerful anti-inflammatory drugs and even surgery to remove or
repair damaged areas of the digestive tract are also standard practices for
dealing with the ravages of the disease.

This is the
state of medicine regarding Crohn’s disease in the early 21st century: we don’t
really understand what’s going wrong or why, and the only “solutions” available,
such as probiotics, mitigate the damage at best. But that picture may change
one day soon as our understanding of the biology of the gut advances and we
come closer to knowing more about the complex interplay among some key players
in this drama: the billions of microbes living in the gut.

Bacteria Are Not All Bad

Bacteria tend
to get a bad rap. When we think of bacteria, we’re most likely to think of
infection. Certainly, bacteria can be the villain. No one would argue that Yersinia pestis—the bacterium responsible for bubonic
plague—is lovable, for instance. And Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus
aureus (MRSA) is
rightfully feared and despised for the terrible damage it can do. But not all
bacteria are bad.

In fact, many
species have evolved alongside humans in a close relationship that greatly
benefits both. This is especially true of the human digestive system. Although
we’ve long known that these bacteria exist, it’s fair to say that scientists
are only beginning to fully appreciate the complexity and richness of these
partnerships among healthy humans and their hoards of microscopic passengers.

What we’re
beginning to comprehend has implications for Crohn’s patients. Normal gut
bacteria, called the intestinal microflora, play an integral role in both
immunity and digestion. And different areas of the digestive tract are
colonized by distinct types of bacteria. In a healthy gut, there’s a delicate
balance among these different species and immune function is normal.

But what
happens when something disturbs this delicate balance? Modern antibiotics, for
instance, are known not only to kill off the infection they’re prescribed to
treat, but to dramatically disturb normal gut bacteria as well. By killing off
“friendly” bacteria, the stage is set for other, less friendly microbes to set
up shop. The implications for inflammatory bowel diseases, including Crohn’s,
are profound.

According to
an emerging theory, infection with a microbe that normally infects dairy cows
may be linked to Crohn’s disease in humans. While this theory is far from
proven, it underscores the importance of a healthy gut microflora, and what can
happen when the delicate balance is disturbed.

Probiotics: Nature’s Health Food

And that’s
where probiotic yogurt comes in. Probiotics and prebiotics are defined as
substances that encourage the growth and establishment of friendly bacteria and
fungi that provide health benefits to the body.

Humans
discovered thousands of years ago that milk could be converted into a highly
digestible and beneficial food called yogurt through a type of fermentation.
Yogurt largely avoids the pitfalls of lactose for people who happen to be
lactose intolerant, by providing most of the nutritional benefits of
milk—calcium, for instance—without much lactose. The friendly bacteria that
ferment the milk digest most of the lactose in the process.

What’s more,
these bacteria happily take up residence in the gut, crowding out less
beneficial bacteria and helping the gut lining the immune system stay healthy.
At least six separate mechanisms have been proposed to explain these benefits,
and scientists are actively investigating them all.

Investigating the Benefits of Probiotics

In general, it
appears certain that consuming yogurt, especially with active cultures, is
beneficial for most people. The data on using probiotics to treat Crohn’s
patients are somewhat less clear, but overall it appears that yogurt is well-tolerated,
provides needed calcium and calories, and may actually improve the patient’s
condition.

In one small
study, Japanese researchers reported that seven out of 10 patients responded
favorably to high-dose prebiotic/probiotic therapy. Six had a complete response
and one had a partial response. Some were able to decrease or discontinue their
intake of anti-inflammatory drugs to control their symptoms. Only three out of
the 10 patients failed to respond to the probiotics.

Other studies
have reported more mixed findings, but none have reported any serious adverse
events associated with yogurt or probiotics consumption. The bottom line is
this: Yogurt is a healthful food that supplies much-needed calcium and
calories. It may even help keep the gut lining healthier and could possibly
help provide relief from further symptoms. Consult with your doctor or
nutritionist, and give it a try.

We're sorry, an error occurred.

Thank you for your feedback. Your health and well being are important to us. We're sorry you couldn't find the information you were looking for this time, but your comments will help us identify gaps and improve our content.

Healthline’s mission is to make the people of the world healthier through the power of information. We do this by creating quality health information that is authoritative, approachable, and actionable.

Join more than 30 million monthly visitors like you and let Healthline be your guide to better health.